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Hiding From Hurricanes
Published in Latitudes & Attitudes
July/August, 1999
My first impression of the Dominican Republic was that it was high, hills and mountains appeared with dawn, and as a bonus, the winds and seas had calmed down considerably. It seemed to be a rugged coastline, no beaches were visible until we got closer to the entrance to Luperon. This was such a change from the Turks & Caicos and the Bahamas, even Florida.
We anchored near the town dock so that we could check in. Cruisers from the year before had built a floating dinghy dock with help from the locals, so we tied up to that and set out to find the Commandante. We met a young Dominican, Jose, who spoke English very well, unlike our very poor (almost non-existent) Spanish. Jose took us to the Commandante's office on the hill and helped complete our paperwork, which was nice, since no one else there at the time spoke English. Then we went to the Immigration office, which was a small blue building on the road to the dock. After all the legalities, we set off to explore the town a bit before going back to have a nap and recover from the sleepless passage.
The town of Luperon consists of mostly dirt roads, some parts are paved, or have been paved. Small stores and restaurants are alongside homes, some made of concrete blocks made right in Luperon, and some are made entirely of organic material with thatched or tin roofs. The local phone office, Codetel, can send or receive faxes at very reasonable rates and is also a gift shop. There are numerous small Dominican restaurants that provide native fare at very reasonable
prices.
There are no supermarkets in Luperon as we know them from the States, but there are two mercados up the street that have limited supplies. These stores provide basics such as rice, flour and beans in 50 pound sacks, but keep an eye out for wildlife in these goods. Fruits, vegetables and unrefrigerated eggs are available at small stores and stands all over town. Ana's is the only store we found whose proprietor speaks English and will order things you need and also receive your mail. Puerto Plata is a city about 25 miles away and has two supermercados that are similar to a smaller supermarket in the States.
One of the cruiser hangouts is the Puerto Blanco Marina which has a dock, dinghy dock and a restaurant. As a bonus, they provide free water at the dinghy dock and free showers, which really spoiled us. They have a varied menu featuring Italian dishes, burgers and sandwiches. Also available for purchase here is drinking water in 5 gallon jugs ($1.00 US), which is handier than lugging it from town. They provide an informal book/magazine swap and it's a popular place to gather for domino games in the afternoon. We've had flea markets there, pot luck dinners as well as a pareau-tying demonstration by one of the cruisers. A laundry service operates here, since there is no laundramat in town.
The Dominican Republic is a beautiful country and we've all gone for trips to other cities and the interior of the island, the mountain range is breathtaking. Luperon is on the north coast and the capital, Santo Domingo, is on the south coast, but is accessible by reasonably-priced bus service. People are friendly and helpful and easy to get along with. And the native rum is very good and reasonable, be sure to stock up.
Almost every cruiser has taken a trip to the nearby waterfalls where a guide helps you up seven levels of short falls in the amazingly cold, refreshing fresh water from the mountains. It's a beautiful trip that starts with a hike to get to the falls and the small river has smooth rock sides that are like a canyon in spots, with a canopy of trees at the top. After you get to the highest level that you can get to safely, you slide your way back down.
It was late September when Mother Nature reminded us of why we were all here, Hurricane Georges. We had been told that this island hasn't had a hurricane in over 70 years, so we figured it was our presence that attracted this one to go right through the center of the island after entering on the south coast. We had plenty of warning, so most of the cruisers took the boats into the mangroves and anchored and tied them in with spiderwebs of lines. This was done a couple days in advance and the day before the storm alot of the native boats from other parts of the island came in and snuggled in between the cruisers, throwing anchor lines across existing ones and just generally clogging things up.
Fortunately, Georges hit the mountain range south of us and veered west. Pico Duarte is the highest mountain in the Caribbean at over 10,000' and suffered a direct hit, which really broke things up. All we got was a small amount of rain and high winds for a few hours, nothing over 50 MPH. The harbor is lined with thick mangroves and has a creek running off the northwest side about 200 yards long. This was a great hiding place, since most of the water is deep right up to the mangroves. The bottom is thick mud which is great holding, but it takes a while for the anchors to sink down into it. We're also surrounded by hills and moutains, so that also cuts down the wind.
Running out of tourist diversions before the end of hurricane season, boredom started to set in. As a result, any excuse could be found for having a party, such as a dinghy raftup to watch the sun set and the moon rise. Everyone was having a wonderful time until a rain cloud came over and dampened everyone, but not their spirits. This created a phenomenon that none of us had ever seen before, a rainbow at night! It appeared in the sky opposite the moon as a very pale, almost whitish, but very complete rainbow, which we named a "moonbow".
One of the Brit cruisers decided that we should have a dinghy precision drill team and the Dinghy Bats were born (or hatched). Eight cruisers got together a few times a week for an hour to practice extensive precise maneuvers. After a couple months of practice, the show was presented to the rest of the cruisers. This gave us another excuse to get together for a party. The program included figure 8's, double circles and weaving lines of dinghies, all choreographed to music taken from a British comedy CD of horribly off-key music. The finale was a lineup of dinghies so the participants could bow to the cheering audience - and then turned around to show us a series of full moons.
At the end of November, the anchorage empties out. By the following spring, it fills back up with cruisers taking advantage of this safe haven for hurricane season.

Last updated by darrensmith@hotmail.com